Sulfate transferase and DNA encoding this enzyme

ABSTRACT

A glycosaminoglycan 6-O-sulfotransferase having an activity of transferring sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue of a glycosaminoglycan, which has a ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying completely desulfated N-acetylated (CDSNAc) heparin/completely desulfated N-resulfated (CDSNS) heparin≧0.05 and a molecular weight as calculated from constituent amino acids of from 53,000 to 58,000 daltons.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sulfotransferase and to DNA encoding it. More particularly, the present invention relates to a polypeptide of 6-O-sulfotransferase which selectively sulfates the hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue contained in a glycosaminoglycan which is a sulfate acceptor, and to DNA encoding the polypeptide.

BACKGROUND ART

Heparin and heparan sulfate are glycosaminoglycans having a repeating unit (4GlcAβ1/IdoAα1→4GlcNAcα1→) composed of two sugars, i.e., a hexuronic acid (HexA) residue (D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) or L-iduronic acid (IdoA) residue) and an N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residue as a basic skeleton (heparin skeleton), basically with a portion of hydroxyl at position 2 of the hexuronic acid residues and a portion of amino groups at position 2 or hydroxyl at position 6 of the N-acetylglucosamine residue being replaced with sulfates.

Cloning of the gene of an enzyme which transfers sulfate to glycosaminoglycans (glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferase) has made it possible to readily obtain the enzyme in amounts sufficient enough to obtain information on the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans having sulfates (sulfated glycosaminoglycans). This will presumably provide a useful approach to investigation on the relationship between the structure and function of sulfated glycosaminoglycans. It has been known that the biosynthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans, in particular, biosynthesis of heparin and heparan sulfate, is achieved by a variety of sulfation processes (Kobata, H., Hakomori, S., Nagai, K., Glycotechnology (5), 57 (1994), published by Kodansha Scientific). This sulfation may involve various glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferases. As the glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferases which transfer sulfate to heparin or heparan sulfate, heparan sulfate N-sulfotransferase (hereinafter in some cases abbreviated as “HSNST”) which catalyzes de-N-acetylation of N-acetylglucosamine residue and sulfate transfer; heparan sulfate 2-O-sulfotransferase (hereinafter in some cases abbreviated as “HS2ST”) which transfers sulfate to hydroxyl at position 2 of hexuronic acid residue; and heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (hereinafter in some cases abbreviated as “HS6ST”) which transfers sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of N-sulfated glycosamine residue, have been isolated and for some of the sulfotransferases, cDNA cloning has already been performed.

The inventors of the present invention have already purified HS6ST which selectively transfers sulfate from 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate which is the sulphate donor, to hydroxyl at position 6 of N-sulfated glucosamine residue contained in heparan sulfate which is the sulfate acceptor, from cultured cells derived from Chinese hamster, mouse, and human (J. Biol. Chem., 270, 4172–4179 (1995)), have completed cloning of the enzyme (J. Biol. Chem., 273, 9208–9213 (1998)), and have succeeded in further cloning two of the isoforms in mouse (J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2859–2868 (2000)).

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Known HS6ST which selectively transfers sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of an N-sulfated glucosamine residue contained in heparan sulfate exhibits a strong enzymatic activity to CDSNS (completely desulfated N-resulfated) heparin but a very weak sulfate transfer activity to sugar chains having substantially no sulfate in amino groups in a glucosamine residue such as CDSNAc (completely desulfated N-acetylated) heparin, which limits modification of the heparin skeletal structure by using the enzyme. In order to obtain many types of modified forms, sulfotransferases having different substrate specificities are needed. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide novel glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferases which selectively sulfate hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue of the heparin skeleton and which also exhibit sufficient activities to CDSNAc heparin.

The inventors of the present invention extensively searched corresponding DNAs of enzymes in humans from human cDNA based on the nucleotide sequence of DNA of one of isoforms of the above-mentioned HS6ST in mouse (hereinafter referred to as “mHS6ST2”). Surprisingly, the inventors have found that besides the corresponding human isoform having a high homology to mHS6ST2 (hereinafter referred to as “hHS6ST2”), another enzyme having a different substrate specificity to that of mHS6ST2 and having a homology to the hHS6ST2 is expressed and confirmed that this enzyme has different properties to those of known sulfotransferases, thereby achieving the present invention.

Thus, the present invention provides the followings:

(1) A glycosaminoglycan 6-O-sulfotransferase having an activity of transferring sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue of a glycosaminoglycan, which has a ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying Completely Desulfated N-Acetylated (CDSNAc) heparin/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧0.05 and a molecular weight as calculated from constituent amino acids of from 53,000 to 58,000 daltons.

(2) A glycosaminoglycan 6-O-sulfotransferase having an activity of transferring sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue of a glycosaminoglycan, which has a ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧1.90 and a molecular weight as calculated from constituent amino acids of from 53,000 to 58,000 daltons.

(3) A glycosaminoglycan 6-O-sulfotransferase having an activity of transferring sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue of a glycosaminoglycan, which comprises a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.

(4) An enzyme according to the item (3), in which the polypeptide has a molecular weight of 53,000 to 58,000 daltons.

(5) An enzyme according to the item (3) or (4), in which the ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfies N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧1.90.

(6) A polypeptide of the following {1} or {2}:

{1} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; and

{2} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of {1} and having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide of {1} or having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan.

(7) A polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, in which the polypeptide has an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan and also has a ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧1.90.

(8) A DNA encoding the polypeptide of the enzyme as defined in any one of the items (1) to (5) or the polypeptide as defined in the item (6) or (7).

(9) A DNA encoding a polypeptide of the following {1} or {2}:

{1} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; and

{2} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of {1} and having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide of {1} or having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan.

(10) A DNA of any one of the followings (a) to (d):

(a) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

(b) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 2 to 1381 in SEQ ID NO: 1;

(c) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the DNA of (a) or (b); and

(d) a DNA which hybridizes with the DNA of (a), (b), or (c) under stringent conditions,

the DNA encoding a polypeptide which has an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan.

(11) A DNA according to the item (10), in which a polypeptide which the DNA encodes has a ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧1.90.

(12) A recombinant vector comprising the DNA as defined in any one of the items (8) to (11).

(13) A transformant which is transformed with the recombinant vector as defined in the item (12).

(14) A method for producing the enzyme as defined in any one of the items (1) to (5), comprising culturing the transformant as defined in the item (13) and isolating the enzyme as defined in the item (1) or (2).

(15) A polypeptide of the following {3} or {4}:

{3} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4; and

{4} a polypeptide having of an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide described in {3} and having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan or having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide described in {3}.

(16) A DNA encoding a polypeptide of the following {3} or {4}:

{3} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4; and

{4} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of {3} and having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan or having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide described in {3} above.

(17) A DNA of any one of (e) to (h):

(e) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3;

(f) a DNA consisting of a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 15 to 1514 in SEQ ID NO: 3;

(g) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the DNA of (e) or (f); and

(h) a human-derived DNA which hybridizes with the DNA in (e), (f), or (g) above under stringent conditions.

(18) A method for detecting tumorigenesis of a tissue, comprising relating an expression amount of the polypeptide as defined in the item (6), (7), or (15) to presence of a tumor in the tissue.

(19) A method for detecting tumorigenesis of a tissue, comprising relating an expression amount of mRNA generated by transcription of the DNA as defined in the item (10) or (17) to presence of a tumor in the tissue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows results of digestion of heparan sulfates modified with human HS6ST isoforms, i.e., hHS6ST2, hHS6ST2v, and hHS6ST1, by heparin-degrading enzymes and fractionation by high performance liquid chromatography. A: hHS6ST1, B: hHS6ST2, C: hHS6ST2v.

FIG. 2 shows results of comparisons of the ability to form sulfated clusters among hHS6ST2, hHS6ST2v, and hHS6ST1 based on the results shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a photograph showing results of analysis of hHS6ST2 expression by a hybridization method using a total RNA dot blotting membrane for human tumor tissues.

FIG. 4 is a photograph showing results of analyses of expression of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v, or hHS6ST2 by a hybridization method using a total RNA dot blotting membrane for healthy human tissues. Left: hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v, right: hHS6ST2.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described.

<1>Enzyme of the Present Invention

The enzyme of the present invention is a glycosaminoglycan 6-O-sulfotransferase having an activity of transferring sulfate to a hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue of a glycosaminoglycan, and has at least one of the followings properties (1) to (4):

-   (1) A ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying     Completely Desulfated N-Acetylated (CDSNAc) heparin/Completely     Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧0.05; -   (2) A molecular weight as calculated from constituent amino acids     being from 53,000 to 58,000 daltons; -   (3) A ratio of relative activities to substrates satisfying     N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS)     heparin ≧1.90; and -   (4) Its polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or     an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion,     or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid     sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.

The enzyme of the present invention usually has the following physical and chemical properties:

(1) Action:

It selectively transfers sulfate from a sulfate donor to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue contained in a sulfate acceptor.

(2) Substrate Specificity:

It transfers sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue in CDSNS heparin (Completely Desulfated, N-Sulfated Heparin), CDSNAC heparin (Completely Desulfated, N-Acetylated Heparin), N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan, and heparin, but it does not transfer sulfate to chondroitin sulfate A and chondroitin sulfate C. A sulfate transfer activity to NDSNAc heparin is not less than 5%, preferably not less than 6%, and more preferably not less than 7% based on that to CDSNS heparin. That is, a ratio of the sulfate transfer activity to CDSNAc heparin to the sulfate transfer activity to CDSNS heparin (CDSNAc heparin/CDSNS heparin) is not less than 0.05, preferably not less than 0.06, and more preferably not less than 0.07. Also, a sulfate transfer activity to NS heparosan is not less than 190%, and more preferably not less than 200% based on that to CDSNS heparin. That is, a ratio of the sulfate transfer activity to NS heparosan to the sulfate transfer activity to CDSNS heparin (NS heparosan/CDSNS heparin) is not less than 1.90 and preferably not less than 2.00.

(3) Molecular Weight:

Calculated amount of the molecular weight of the polypeptide which constitutes the enzyme (value calculated from the amino acid sequence) is 53,000 Da or more and 58,000 Da or less.

The physical and chemical properties described above can be measured according to the method described in J. Biol. Chem. 270, 4172–4179 (1995).

Although the enzyme of the present invention may be derived from any mammalian so far as it has the above-mentioned properties, it is particularly preferred that the enzyme is derived from human.

The sulfate donor for the enzyme of the present invention preferably includes active sulfate (3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphate; hereinafter also referred to as “PAPS”).

For the enzyme of the present invention, an enzyme whose polypeptide has an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 is preferable. However, if the polypeptide of an enzyme has an amino acid sequence including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, such an enzyme is also encompassed by the enzyme of the present invention so far as the enzyme having a polypeptide having such an amino acid sequence has at least the action described in (1) above and the substrate specificity. The word “a few” in respect of amino acids in the above-mentioned polypeptide refers to a number corresponding to 10% or less of the number of amino acids constituting the polypeptide.

One skilled in the art can easily select substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one amino or more acids which will give substantially no damage to the enzyme activity by confirming whether or not the targeted enzyme activity is present according to the above-mentioned measuring method for the activity.

Preferably, the enzyme of the present invention further has the following properties. That is, a sulfate transfer activity to the hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue in heparan sulfate derived from mouse EHS tumor, when measured by the activity measuring method described in Examples hereinbelow, is 1.0 or more time, preferably 1.05 or more times, and particularly preferably 1.3 or more times that to CDSNS heparin. On the other hand, the enzyme of the present invention transfers substantially no sulfate to hexuronic acid.

<2> DNA1 of the Present Invention and Polypeptide Encoded by the Same

The DNA1 of the present invention is a DNA which encodes the polypeptide of the enzyme of the present invention described in <1> above.

Specific examples of the DNA1 of the present invention include a DNA having a nucleotide sequence encoding the entire amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, which is the polypeptide hHS6ST2v, and DNA having a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 including substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one or a few amino acids and having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or having an enzyme activity to transfer sulfate to the hydroxyl at position 6 of a glucosamine residue contained in a glycosaminoglycan with CDSNAc heparin/CDSNS heparin being not less than 0.05, and preferably not less than 0.06. A DNA having a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide whose CDSNAc heparin/CDSNS heparin is not less than 0.07 is most preferred. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Also, the DNA1 of the present invention is a DNA having a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide whose NS heparosan/CDSNS heparin is preferably not less than 1.90, and more preferably not less than 2.00.

That is, such a DNA is not limited so far as an enzyme containing the polypeptide encoded by the DNA has the above-mentioned physical and chemical properties of the enzyme of the present invention. Specific examples of such a DNA include a DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 2 to 1381 (coding region) of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and a DNA which hybridizes with these DNAs under stringent conditions. Further examples of the DNA1 of the present invention include DNAs and RNAs having nucleotide sequences complementary to DNAs having the above-mentioned exemplary nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, DNAs may be either single stranded or double stranded. DNAs are not limited so far as they have the above-mentioned nucleotide sequences or nucleotide sequences complementary thereto. Also, the DNA1 of the present invention may contain the sequence of an intron which is to be removed before translation.

As the stringent conditions described above, conditions in which 50% formaldehyde, 5×SSPE (sodium chloride/sodium phosphate/EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) buffer), 5× Denhardt's solution, 0.5% SDS (sodium dodecylsulfate), and 100 μg/ml of denatured salmon sperm are present at 42° C. and conditions substantially the same as these are exemplified. That is, the stringent conditions are conditions which are used in usual hybridization of genes. Those conditions used in a Northern blotting method, a Southern blotting method, screening using hybridization of nucleic acids, etc. are included in the “stringent conditions” as used herein.

Substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of nucleotide or nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA which causes the above-mentioned substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of one amino or more acids in an amino acid sequence can be introduced into a DNA, for example, by synthesizing a sequence with both ends thereof being cleaved with a restriction enzyme and containing both sides of the mutation site therein, and replacing the corresponding portion of the nucleotide sequence in a non-mutated DNA. Also, substitution, deletion, insertion, or translocation of nucleotide or nucleotides may be introduced into DNA by a site specific mutation (Kremer, W. and Frits, H. J., Meth. In Enzymol., 154, 350 (1987); Kunkel, T. A. et al., Meth. In Enzymol., 154, 367 (1987)) and the like.

Note that one skilled in the art can readily understand that DNAs having different nucleotide sequences due to degeneracy of genetic codes are also included in the DNA1 of the present invention.

Preferably, the DNA1 of the present invention has a nucleotide sequence having 95% or more homology as calculated using a gene analysis computer program GENETYX-MAC (manufactured by Software Development Co., Ltd.) to the nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 2 to 1381 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

The DNA1 of the present invention is preferably DNA which is expressed mainly in at least one of testis, ovary, and kidney as well as in brain and which is further expressed in pancreas and pituitary gland in a slight amount.

<3> Preparation Method for DNA1 of the Present Invention

The DNA1 of the present invention can be prepared by amplification by a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method or the like from cDNA by using primers prepared based on the nucleotide sequence of mHS6ST2 or that of human EST or the like corresponding thereto. It can also be prepared by artificial synthesis based on the nucleotide sequence of the DNA1 of the present invention disclosed by the present invention. Also, one skilled in the art can prepare the DNA1 of the present invention from a cDNA library or total RNA of human origin by artificially preparing primers based on the nucleotide sequence of the DNA1 of the present invention and using the primers. Furthermore, by using the above-mentioned primers, a DNA encoding a corresponding enzyme present in a mammalian other than humans can be obtained from a cDNA library or total RNA of the other mammalian origin.

In particular, the DNA1 of the present invention can be produced by cloning comprising the following steps:

-   (1) preparation of primers by using mouse HS6ST2 and human EST     (Expression Sequence Tag); -   (2) amplification of cDNA by a PCR method using the primers prepared     in (1) above; and -   (3) recovery and cloning of the PCR product.

Usually, the full-length cDNA of the present invention is selected by screening.

However, the production method for the DNA1 of the present invention is not limited to this and the DNA1 of the present invention can be produced by the above-mentioned PCR method as well as other known cDNA cloning technique.

Hereinafter, one example of the production method for DNA of the present invention using cDNA of HS6ST2 of mouse origin (mHS6ST2) (J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2859–2868 (2000)) will be specifically described.

(1) Preparation of Primers by Using Mouse HS6ST2 (mHS6ST2) and Human EST

Preparation of primers for PCR may be performed in the same manner as in ordinary methods. However, it is preferred that a nucleotide sequence of DNA of human origin be used for preparing the primer for amplifying cDNA of human HS6ST2v. Therefore, it is preferred to search for a corresponding human EST from an EST database by using cDNA of mHS6ST2 and prepare a primer based on the sequence of the human EST. Examples of such an EST that can be used for the preparation of primers include one recorded in dbEST of GenBank under register No. AL049679. 5′ Primer and 3′ primer do not have to be prepared based on the nucleotide sequence of human DNA. For example, one of them may be prepared based on the nuleotide sequence of cDNA of mHS6ST2 and the other may be prepared based on the nucleotide sequence of human EST. Examples of such primers include primers having nucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6.

(2) Amplification of cDNA by a PCR Method

By using the above-prepared primers, cDNA prepared from cells is amplified by a PCR method.

cDNA can be prepared by a conventional method. Also, a commercially available cDNA library may also be used. cDNA can be prepared, for example, by the following method.

That is, total RNA can be obtained from cultured cells or cells collected from a tissue by, for example, a guanidine thiocyanate/CsCl method (Kngston, R. S., (1991) in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Suppl. 14, Unit 4.2, Green Publishing Associates and Wiley Interscience, New York) or the like. The material is not particularly limited so far as it expresses mRNA of HS6ST2v.

From the total RNA thus obtained, poly(A)⁺RNA is purified by oligo dT (Oligo-(dT)) cellulose column chromatography or the like and further a reverse transcription PCR method by using a random oligo nucleotide primer is performed allowing preparation of cDNA.

It is also preferred to use commercially available cDNA as the above-mentioned cDNA in consideration of ease of operation.

Amplification of the cDNA described above by a PCR method using the above-mentioned primers results in specific amplification of the cDNA of HS6ST2v. The PCR method can be performed by, for example, the method as described below.

That is, 3 μl of an aqueous solution containing a cDNA library is heated at 95° C. for 3 minutes and then immediately ice-cooled to denature cDNA. To the denatured cDNA, distilled water is added and left to stand at 0° C. for 20 minutes or more and then the above-mentioned primers are added. To the mixture, a reverse transcription reaction mixture, four kinds of deoxynucleotide triphosphates, and AmpliTaq polymerase are added. The amplification reaction, which is composed of, for example, denaturation reaction at 94° C. for 30 seconds, annealing at 55° C. for 30 seconds, and elongation reaction at 72° C. for 2 minutes, is repeatedly performed 35 times. Thereafter, a further 15 minutes of elongation reaction is carried out. However, the conditions of the PCR method, such as the number of repetition and temperature, may be adjusted appropriately.

In addition, preparation of cDNA is conveniently performed with a commercially available cDNA synthesis kit. Examples of such a kit include Taq PCR Core Kit (manufactured by Qiagen, K.K.). Also, use of, for example, TimeSaver cDNA synthesis kit (manufactured by Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology, AB) allows coupling of cDNA to cloning vector as well as synthesis of cDNA.

Analysis of DNA amplified by such methods by separation means according to molecular weight, for example, agarose gel electrophoresis reveals amplification of HS6ST2v (about 1,360 bp) and HS6ST2 (about 1,500 bp).

(3) Recovery and Cloning of PCR Product

Among cDNAs amplified by the PCR method, the PCR product of about 1,360 bp is recovered by a conventional method. For example, where the PCR product is fractionated by gel electrophoresis according to molecular weight, a method of taking out DNA from gel, such as Jetsorb may be used.

The recovered PCR product is ligated with a restriction enzyme region and this is inserted to a cloning vector to introduce (transfect) it into a host bacterium cell by a conventional method.

The host bacterium cell to be used must be selected by a cloning vector to be used. Usually, a combination of a cloning vector whose host is Escherichia coli (E. coli) and E. coli is frequently used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Transfection is performed usually by mixing with E. coli of which the permeability of its cell membrane has been changed in the presence of recombinant DNA and 30 mM calcium chloride. In the case of λ phage vector such as λgt11, recombinant DNA may be directly introduced even into E. coli treated with calcium chloride. However, a method in which recombinant DNA is introduced into the shell of the phage in a test tube in advance (this being called “in vitro packaging”) to efficiently infect the recombinant DNA with E. coli is generally used. Also, packaging can be performed by using a commercially available packaging kit (Gigapack II packaging extract: manufactured by Stratagene, etc.).

The packaged recombinant DNA is transfected into E. coli. In this instance, E. coli strain to be used must be selected depending on the cloning vector and plasmid vector to be used. That is, where a cloning vector containing an antibiotic resistant gene is used, E. coli should not have resistance to the antibiotic. On the other hand, where a cloning vector containing a gene such as α-galactosidase gene (lacZ) is used, E. coli which has no β-galactosidase activity must be selected.

This is necessary for screening for E. coli to which recombinant DNA is transfected. For example, where λgt11 cloning vector is used, it is recommended that an E. coli strain such as E. coli Y1088 be used. On the other hand, where Bluescript is used as a plasmid vector, E. coli JM109, etc. may be used as a host bacterium cell (indicator strain); it is just needed to suspend it together with the host bacterium cells in a soft agar medium and overlay the obtained suspension on an agar medium so as to allow plaque formation thereon. The phage plaques holding the plasmid to which a DNA fragment has been inserted do not express β-galactosidase activity so that this can be easily selected.

From the above-selected clone, the introduced vector or plasmid is prepared by a conventional method and further cleaved with an appropriate restriction enzyme to obtain the DNA1 of the present invention. The obtained cDNA fragment, as it is or after subcloning into an appropriate plasmid, is subjected to nucleotide sequencing.

One example of the nucleotide sequence of the DNA1 of the present invention thus obtained is described in SEQ ID NO: 1, and the amino acid sequence encoded thereby is described in SEQ ID NO: 2.

<4> Production Method for the Enzyme of the Present Invention

The production method for the enzyme of the present invention is a production method for the polypeptide of the enzyme or the enzyme by using the DNA1 of the present invention.

By culturing cells transfected with the above-mentioned DNA1 of the present invention, allowing the enzyme of the present invention to be generated and accumulated in the medium, and isolating the polypeptide or the enzyme containing it from the culture, the polypeptide or the enzyme containing it can be produced.

Cells transfected with the DNA1 of the present invention (transformants) can be obtained by inserting the DNA1 of the present invention into a known expression vector to construct a recombinant plasmid and performing transfection with the recombinant plasmid. The present invention provides a recombinant plasmid, i.e., a recombinant vector, containing the DNA1 of the present invention and transformants in which the DNA1 of the present invention is introduced and the DNA1 of the present invention is expressible and which can be used for the production of enzyme of the present invention and polypeptides thereof (for example, transformants transformed with the above-mentioned recombinant vector).

Examples of cell include prokaryotic cells such as E. coli cells and eukaryotic cells such as mammalian cells. Where prokaryotic cells such as E. coli cells are used, no sugar chain addition takes place to the polypeptide of the enzyme obtained by the expression of the DNA1 of the present invention, so that the polypeptide of the enzyme of the present invention can be obtained (the obtained polypeptide is particularly useful for producing antibodies). On the other hand, where eukaryotic cells such as mammalian cells are used, addition of sugar chain occurs to the above-mentioned polypeptide to produce the enzyme of the present invention.

In the method of the present invention, host-vector systems usually used in the production of proteins may be used. It is preferred to adopt combinations of cultured cells derived from mammalian cells such as COS cells (COS-1, COS-7, etc.) and 3LL-HK46 cells and expression vectors for mammalian cells, such as pcDNAI, pME18S, pCXN2, and pCEV18. However, the present invention is not particularly limited thereto and the enzyme of the present invention can also be produced by using combinations of cells of which origin is not mammalian cells with expression vectors which can be expressed in such cells. Medium and culture conditions may be appropriately selected depending on the host, i.e., cells to be used.

By using the DNA of the present invention, it is also possible to express a fused polypeptide composed of the above-mentioned polypeptide and another polypeptide.

Specific examples of the construction method for a recombinant plasmid which expresses the above-mentioned fused polypeptide include the following methods. That is, an expression plasmid vector can be constructed by inserting the DNA of the present invention so that it contains a protein such as protein A in the same reading region as that of the DNA1 of the present invention and it has a plurality of protein genes in the same reading region (for example, pGIR201protA: J. Biol. Chem. 269, 1394–1401, 1994, pcDNAI-A: J. Biol. Chem. 274, 3215–3221, 1999, etc.) and a fused polypeptide can be produced by introduction of this expression plasmid into a host cell. In addition, a DNA fragment which encodes the fused polypeptide may be cleaved out with a restriction enzyme from the expression vector and this may be ligated with another expression plasmid vector by the same operation as described above to introduce it into host cells.

Collection of the enzyme of the present invention from the culture product can be performed by a known purification method for polypeptides. Specifically, affinity chromatography using a Sepharose column having bound thereto, for example, a substrate of the above-mentioned enzyme, etc. may be mentioned. Where a fused polypeptide is expressed, purification can be performed by subjecting the culture product of host cells to affinity chromatography or the like with an affinity column having bound thereto a substance having high affinity for the polypeptide (for example, antibody, etc.) fused with the enzyme of the present invention in addition to the above-mentioned affinity column. Furthermore, by preliminarily incorporating, for example, a linker having an amino acid sequence which is recognized and cleaved by a specified proteolytic enzyme, between the polypeptides of the enzyme of the present invention and the other protein in the fused polypeptide, the enzyme of the present invention can be obtained by cleaving the fused polypeptide. As a combination of the proteolytic enzyme and the specific sequence which the proteolytic enzyme recognizes includes, for example, a combination of a signal peptidase which acts at the time of synthesis of proinsulin and a signal peptide of insulin. The above-mentioned culture product includes a medium and cultured cells.

<5> DNA2 of the Present Invention and Polypeptide Encoded Thereby

The DNA2 of the present invention is a DNA which encodes the polypeptide of human-derived HS6ST2 (hHS6ST2). Specifically, the DNA2 of the present invention is a DNA which encodes a polypeptide of the following (3) or (4):

-   (3) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence as described in SEQ     ID NO: 4, and -   (4) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including     substitution, deletion, insertion or translocation of one or a few     amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide (3) and     having an enzymatic activity of transferring sulfate from a sulfate     donor to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue contained     in a sulfate acceptor or having the same antigenicity as that of the     polypeptide (3).

The DNA2 of the present invention includes, in addition to the DNA having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or comprising a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 15 to 1514 thereof, a DNA of human origin which hybridizes with the above-mentioned DNA under stringent conditions.

The DNA2 of the present invention also includes, in addition to the DNA having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 15 to 1514 of SEQ ID NO: 3 encoding the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, variant DNAs by individual variation, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), etc. of the DNA of hHS6ST2.

As the DNA2 of the present invention, DNA and RNA having nucleotide sequences complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the above-mentioned DNA are also exemplified. Further the DNAs may be either double-stranded or single-stranded and are included in the DNA2 of the present invention so far as they contain the above-mentioned nucleotide sequence or those nucleotide sequences which are complementary thereto. Also, the DNA2 of the present invention may contain the sequence of intron, which is removed before translation.

“A few” with respect to the DNA2 of the present invention is the same as described above. One skilled in the art can measure the above-mentioned enzymatic activity and antigenicity by a conventional method by using the above-mentioned enzyme of the present invention or the method described with respect to the DNA1 of the present invention and select the DNA2 of the present invention which has a polypeptide having the enzymatic activity or the antigenicity.

Preferably, the DNA2 of the present invention has a nucleotide sequence having 95% or more homology as calculated by use of a gene analysis computer programs GENETYX-MAC (manufactured by Software Development Co., Ltd.) to the nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 15 to 1514 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.

The DNA2 of the present invention is a DNA which is intensively expressed in brain but substantially no intensive expression thereof is observed in testis, ovary, and kidney.

<6> Preparation Method for DNA2 of the Present Invention

The DNA2 of the present invention can be prepared by recovering an about 1,500-bp band, instead of the about 1360-bp band, from the product of the PCR method in the preparation method for DNA1 of the present invention in <4> described above.

One example of nucleotide sequence of the DNA2 of the present invention prepared in this manner is described in SEQ ID NO: 3 and the amino acid sequence encoded thereby is described in SEQ ID NO: 4.

The DNA2 of the present invention thus obtained may be introduced into a recombinant vector by using the same technique as that described in <3> above, a recombinant host cell may be prepared therewith, and human-derived HS6ST2 may be expressed in its culture product.

The thus prepared human-derived HS6ST2 has ability to form sulfated cluster (structure detected as ΔdiHS-tri(U,6,N): 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-4-O-(4-deoxy-2-O-sulfo-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-glucose in disaccharide analysis) 1.2 or more times and preferably 1.5 or more times that of human derived HS6ST2v likewise prepared from the DNA1 of the present invention.

<7> Tumor Detection Method of the Present Invention

The tumor detection method of the present invention is a detection method for a tumor (tumorigenesis of tissue) characterized by relating the expression amount of the polypeptide of hHS6ST2 and/or hHS6ST2v, preferably a difference in expression amount of the polypeptide of hHS6ST2 and/or hHS6ST2v between a tumor tissue and a surrounding tissue, to the presence of a tumor in tissue cells. In particular, the measurement of a difference in total expression amount of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v from healthy cells is preferred.

Measurement of the expression amount may be performed by direct measurement of the amount of polypeptide or indirect measurement by measurement of the amount of mRNA or the like. The amount of mRNA may be measured by converting mRNA into cDNA by reverse transcription.

Where the amount of polypeptide is measured, the polypeptide to be measured is usually any of polypeptides (1) to (3) described below.

-   (1) A polypeptide of the following {1} or {2}:     {1} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; and -   {2} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including     substitution, deletion, insertion or translocation of one or a few     amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of {1} and     having the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide of {1} or     having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at     position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan. -   (2) A polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including     substitution, deletion, insertion or translocation of one or a few     amino acids in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, in which the     polypeptide has an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to     hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a     glycosaminoglycan and also has a ratio of relative activities to     substrates satisfying N-Sulfated (NS) heparosan/Completely     Desulfated N-Sulfated (CDSNS) heparin ≧1.90. -   (3) A polypeptide of the following {3} or {4}:     {3} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4; and     {4} a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence including     substitution, deletion, insertion or translocation of one or a few     amino acids in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of {3} and     having an enzymatic activity to transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at     position 6 of a glycosamine residue in a glycosaminoglycan or having     the same antigenicity as that of the polypeptide of {3}.

In the case where the amount of mRNA is measured, the measured mRNA is usually one generated by transcription of the DNA of the following {1} or {2}.

-   (1) A DNA selected from any one of the following (a) to (d): -   (a) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; -   (b) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 2 to     1381 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; -   (c) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to the     nucleotide sequence of the DNA of (a) or (b); -   (d) a DNA which hybridizes with the DNA of (a), (b) or (c) above     under stringent conditions,     the DNA encoding a polypeptide which has an enzymatic activity to     transfer sulfate to hydroxyl at position 6 of a glycosamine residue     in a glycosaminoglycan. -   (2) A DNA selected from any one of the following (e) to (h): -   (e) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; -   (f) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 15 to     1514 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; -   (g) a DNA having a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to the     nucleotide sequence of the DNA of (e) or (f); and -   (h) a human-derived DNA which hybridizes with the DNA of (e), (f)     or (g) above under stringent conditions.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a tissue having a high possibility of containing a tumor and a healthy tissue surrounding it are collected by, for example, biopsy, etc., from which cDNAs are prepared in accordance with a conventional method. The expression amounts of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v are compared, for example, by a hybridization method using a DNA having a nucleotide sequence of residues 15 to 1514 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 as a probe. The results of the comparison and presence of tumor are related to each other and the presence of tumor is detected.

For example, in brain, small intestine, kidney and soft tissue, where a sample tissue has decreased expression amounts of polypeptides of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v as compared with those of healthy tissue, it can be judged that a tumor is present in that tissue. On the other hand, in lung glandular tissue, large intestine, and adrenal gland, where a sample tissue has increased expression amounts of polypeptides of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v as compared with those of healthy tissue, it can be judged that a tumor is present in that tissue.

EXAMPLE

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by examples.

Example 1 Preparation of DNA of the Present Invention

(1) Preparation of Primer and Amplification of DNA

By using the amino acid sequence of mouse HS6ST2 (mHS6ST2) (J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2859–2868 (2000)), dbEST of GenBank was searched to find a human counterpart DNA having a homology to encoded amino acid sequence (GenBank accession No. AL049679). A primer (Pr1: SEQ ID NO: 5) having a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues (−14) to (6) of the nucleotide sequence encoding mHS6ST (J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2859–2868 (2000)) as counted taking the translation initiation site as 1 and a primer (Pr2: SEQ ID NO: 6) having a nucleotide sequence complementary to a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide residues 1481–1500 of the nucleotide sequence of GenBank accession No. AL049679 were synthesized. With these, DNA was amplified by a PCR method with human brain cDNA manufactured by Stratagene as a template and Taq PCR Core Kit (manufactured by Qiagen, K.K.). The PCR method was performed under conditions of denaturation reaction at 94° C. for 30 seconds, annealing at 55° C. for 30 seconds and elongation reaction at 72° C. for 2 minutes. This was performed in 35 cycles. Thereafter, elongation reaction was performed for further 15 minutes. Upon analysis of the amplification product obtained by this operation by Agarose gel electrophoresis, two amplified DNA bands of about 1,360 bp and of about 1,500 bp were detected.

(2) Subcloning of PCR Product and Determination of Nucleotide Sequence

From the gel described above, DNA present in each band was recovered by using Jetsorb (manufactured by Genomed, Inc.). The nucleotide sequence of the amplified DNA was directly determined from the recovered DNA. Nucleotide sequences were determined by using dGTP/deazaGTP kit containing Sequenase version 2.0 (U.S. Biochemical Corporation). The nucleotide sequences were edited and analyzed by means of a computer program GENETYX-MAC. It was revealed that the PCR products have open reading frames, respectively. The determined nucleotide sequences are shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3, respectively, and amino acid sequences encoded by the open reading frames are shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively.

The larger PCR product was revealed to be a cDNA of hHS6ST2 having 98% homology to mHS6ST (DNA2 of the present invention) and the smaller PCR product had a nucleotide sequence corresponding to cDNA of hHS6ST2 but lacking 117 base pairs present in the intermediate portion thereof, which was revealed to be a variant (hHS6ST2v) of hHS6ST2 (DNA1 of the present invention). The 117 base pairs which are present in hHS6ST2 and in which hSH6ST2v is deficient were found to be a nucleotide sequence corresponding to the second and third exons of mHS6ST2 by comparison with the results of exon/intron analysis of a genomic DNA of mHS6ST2.

Results of comparisons of the polypeptides of hHS6ST2, hHS6ST2v and mHS6ST2 are shown in Table 1. Homology was calculated based on mHS6ST2 as a standard by using a gene analysis computer program GENETYX-MAC (manufactured by Software Development Co., Ltd.).

TABLE 1 Comparison of polypeptide hHS6ST2 hHS6ST2v mHS6ST2 Number of amino acids 499 459 506 Molecular weight 57696 53459 58092 N-Linked glycosylation 9 8 9 site Homology to mHS6ST-2 92% 86% 100% PAPS-binding site Present Present Present

Example 2 Preparation of the Enzyme of the Present Invention

(1) Preparation of Plasmid for Expression of the Enzyme of the Present Invention

To express the cDNA of hHS6ST2, a cDNA fragment was inserted into an expression vector to construct a recombinant plasmid. The isolated cDNA of hHS6ST2v was introduced into HindIII/EcoRI site of pFLAG-CMV-2 (manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company), which was an expression vector for a mammalian, to construct a recombinant plasmid, pFLAG-CMV-2hHS6ST2v. This plasmid was constructed so as to express a fused polypeptide of FLAG which is a sequence as a tag having no activity of enzyme or the like and hHS6ST2v.

(2) Transient Expression of cDNA of hHS6ST2v in COS-7 Cells

As a host for expressing cDNA of hHS6ST2v, COS-7 cells were used. COS-7 cells were suspended in 3 ml of Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (manufactured by Life Technologies, Inc.) containing 50 units/ml of penicillin, 50 μg/ml of streptomycin, and 10% (v/v) fetal calf serum and transfected with the expression vector produced as described above by DEAE-dextran method (Aruffo, A., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, 1992, Supplement 14, Unit 16.13.1–16.13.7, Green Publishing Associates/Wiley-Interscience, New York), and thereafter, cultured under the condition of 37° C.

The cells transfected with pFLAG-CMV-2hHS6ST2v were cultured for 67 hours and from these cells a cell extract was prepared by the method described in Habuchi, H., Habuchi, O., and Kimata, K. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 4172–4179. From the cell extract, hHS6ST2v was purified and isolated by affinity chromatography with an anti-FLAG antibody and its substrate specificity was studied (Table 2). The measurement of activity was performed according to the method described in Habuchi, H., Habuchi, O., and Kimata, K. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 4172–4179 and Kobayashi, M., Habuchi, H., Habuchi, O., Saito, M., and Kimata, K. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 7645–7653, by using various sulfate acceptors as substrates and measuring enzymatic activity on each of them. The results are shown in relative values taking the activity on CDSNS heparin as 100. As controls for comparison, mHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2 isolated from COS-7 cells transfected with pFLAG-CMV-2 in which mHS6ST2 was introduced in the same manner as hHS6ST2v described above (pFLAG-CMV-2 mHS6ST2) and COS-7 cells transfected with pFLAG-CMV-2 in which hHS6ST2 was introduced in the same manner (pFLAG-CMV-2hHS6ST2) by the same purification method as that described above were used.

TABLE 2 Substrate specificity HS6ST activity Substrate hHS6ST2v hHS6ST2 mHS6ST2 CDSNS heparin 100 100 100 NS heparosan 278 202 185 Heparin 2.1 2.4 8.6 CDSNAc heparin 7.5 8.2 4.7 Heparan sulfate 91 84 65 (porcine artery) Heparan sulfate 155 106 97 (Mouse EHS tumor) *Not active on chondroitin sulfate A and chondroitin sulfate C.

It becomes evident that hHS6ST2v has higher sulfotransferase activities on NS heparosan, heparin, and CDSNAc heparin than those of mHS6ST2.

Heparan sulfate from porcine artery was weighed so as to contain 25 nmol of uronic acid. 50 pmol of radioactivity-labeled active sulfate ({³⁵S}PAPS) and 0.35 U (amount necessary for sulfating CDSNS heparin in a rate of 0.35 pmol/min) of hHS6ST2 (prepared in the same manner as the hHS6ST2v described above with a cDNA of hHS6ST2), hHS6ST2v, or HS6ST1 (J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 270 (1995), pp. 4172–4179) as a control for comparison was added thereto and reaction was carried out at 20° C. for 1 hour. After boiling the reaction mixture to inactivate the enzyme, chondroitin sulfate A (CSA: manufactured by Seikagaku Corporation) was added and unreacted {³⁵S}PAPS was removed by an ethanol precipitation method. Here, heparan sulfate modified with HS6ST2 was named HS2, heparan sulfate modified with HS6ST2v was named HS2v, and heparan sulfate modified with HS6ST1 was named HS1.

HS2, HS2v, and HS1 were fractionated by a combination of digestion with heparin-degrading enzymes and high performance liquid chromatography. That is, 1.0 μg of the test substance was dissolved in 25 μg of 20 mM sodium acetate (pH 7.0) containing 2 mM of calcium acetate. Each 1.5 mU of heparitinase and of heparitinase I as well as 0.15 mU of heparitinase II (all manufactured by Seikagaku Corporation) were added thereto and reaction was carried out at 37° C. for 1 hour.

The reaction mixtures were analyzed by using HPLC (manufactured by Waters Corporation) under the following conditions. That is, a silica-based amino column (manufactured by YMC Corporation; YMC-Pack Polyamine-II column φ 4.0×250 mm) was used, and elution was performed by a concentration gradient method with sodium dihydrogen phosphate (250 mM→540 mM) at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/minute according to the method of Habuchi, et al. (Habuchi, et al. (1992) Biochem. J., 285, pp.805–813), and absorbance of the eluation was measured at 232 nm. Fractions from 16 minutes to 43 minutes were recovered and then the radioactivity in each fraction was measured by a scintillation counter (FIG. 1). In FIG. 1, ΔDiHS-6S indicates 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4-O-(4-deoxy-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-glucose; ΔDiHS-NS indicates 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-4-O-(4-deoxy-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-D-glucose; ΔDiHS-di(6,N)S indicates 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-4-O-(4-deoxy-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-glucose; ΔDiHS-di(N,U)S indicates 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-4-O-(4-deoxy-2-O-sulfo-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-D-glucose; and ΔDiHS-tri(U,6,N)S indicates 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-4-O-(4-deoxy-2-O-sulfo-α-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-glucose. From the count number of the scintillation counter, hHS6ST2, hHS6ST2v, and hHS6ST1 were compared by the peak of unsaturated disaccharide (Δdi-(N,6,U)triS) having the structure in which 2-O-sulfated uronic acid and 6,N-sulfated glucosamine are bound (the peak indicating ability to form sulfated cluster), standardized by the peak of N-acetylglucosamine residue having a sulfate group at position 6 (peak at 19 minutes) (FIG. 2). As a result, it was revealed that hHS6ST2v had an ability to form sulfated cluster to an extent moderate between hHS2ST2 and hHS6ST1.

Example 3 Observation of HS6ST2 Expression in Tumors

By using a total RNA dot blotting membrane for human tumor tissues (manufactured by Bio Chain, Inc.), expression of HS6ST2 was analyzed by a hybridization method (expression hybridization method) with a portion of the nucleotide sequence of the coding region of hHS6ST2 (nucleotide residues 15–1514 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3) (FIG. 3). The arrangement of tissues on the blotting membrane is as shown in Table 3. Under the conditions used, total expression amounts of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v are detected.

TABLE 3 Arrangement of tissues on blot membrane 1&2 3&4 5&6 7&8 9&10 11&12 A Brain Pharynx/Throat Duodenum Gallbladder Testis Thyroid gland 1. Astrocytoma 3. Squamous cell 5. Tumor 7. Tumor  9. Tumor 11. Follicular 2. Normal carcinoma 6. Normal 8. Normal 10. Normal adenocarcinoma 4. Normal 12. Normal B Brain Esophagus Small Intestine Pancreas Ovary Thyroid gland 1. Neurilemmoma 3. Poorly differentiated 5. Tumor 7. Tumor  9. Adenocarcinoma 11. Follicular 2. Normal squamous cell carcinoma 6. Normal 8. Normal 10. Normal adenoma 4. Normal 12. Normal C Brain Esophagus Colon Parotid gland Ovary Thyroid gland 1. Meningioma 3. Moderately 5. Poorly 7. Tumor  9. Thecoma 11. Papillary 2. Normal differentiated squamous differentiated 8. Normal 10. Normal adenocarcinoma cell carcinoma adenocarcinoma 12. Normal 4. Normal 6. Normal D Lung Esophagus Colon Kidney Ovary Adrenal gland 1. Poorly 3. Adenocarcinoma 5. Well 7. Granular cell  9. Teratoma 11. Tumor differentiated 4. Normal differentiated carcinoma 10. Normal 12. Normal squamous cell adenocarcinoma 8. Normal carcinoma 6. Normal 2. Normal E Lung Stomach Rectum Kidney Uterus Thymus 1. Moderately 3. Squamous cell 5. Poorly 7. Clear cell  9. Leiomyoma 11. Tumor differentiated carcinoma differentiated carcinoma 10. Normal 12. Normal squamous cell 4. Normal adenocarcinoma 8. Normal carcinoma 6. Normal 2. Normal F Lung Stomach Rectum Bladder Uterus Lymphoma 1. Poorly 3. Poorly differentiated 5. Moderately 7. Transitional  9. Adenocarcinoma 11. Lymphoma differentiated adenocarcinoma differentiated cell carcinoma 10. Normal 12. Normal lymph adenocarcinoma 4. Normal adenocarcinoma grade II node 2. Normal 6. Normal 8. Normal G Lung Stomach Liver Bladder Breast Non-Hodgkin's 1. Moderately 3. Moderately 5. Poorly 7. Transitional  9. invasive lymphoma differentiated differentiated differentiated cell carcinoma ductal carcinoma 11. Lymphoma adenocarcinoma adenocarcinoma hepatocellular grade III 10. Normal 12. Normal lymph 2. Normal 4. Normal carcinoma 8. Normal node 6. Normal H Lung Stomach Liver Prostate Breast Soft tissue 1. Alveolar 3. Well differentiated 5. Moderately 7. Tumor  9. Fibroadenoma 11. Malignant carcinoma adenocarcinoma differentiated 8. Normal 10. Normal fibrous 2. Normal 4. Normal hepatocellular histocytoma carcinoma 12. Normal 6. Normal

As a result, it was revealed that in tumor sites in brain, small intestine, kidney and soft tissue, the expression amounts of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v were clearly decreased as compared with those in surrounding healthy tissues while these were increased in tumor sites in lung glandular tissue, large intestine and adrenal gland. These results suggest a possibility that the presence of a tumor in each tissue when the expression amounts of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v in tissue samples are decreased as compared with those of healthy tissues in the case of brain, small intestine, kidney and soft tissue and when the expression amounts of hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v are increased in tissue samples as compared with those of healthy tissues in the case of lung glandular tissue, large intestine and adrenal gland.

In the same manner as described above, by using a total RNA dot blotting membrane for human healthy tissues (manufactured by Bio Chain, Inc.), expressions of HS6ST2 and HS6ST2v or expression of HS6ST2 was analyzed by a hybridization method (expression hybridization method) with a portion of the nucleotide sequence of the coding region of hHS6ST2 (nucleotide residues 15–1514 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3) or of hHS6ST2 (nucleotide residues 525–644 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3), respectively, (FIG. 4). The arrangement of tissues on the blotting membrane is as shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Entire Amygdala Caudate Cerebellum Cerebral Frontal Hippocampus Medulla brain nucleus cortex lobe oblongata B Occipital Putamen Substantia Temporal Thalamus Subthalamic Spinal cord lobe nigra lobe nucleus C Heart Aorta Skeletal Colon Bladder Uterus Prostate Stomach muscle D Testis Ovary Pancreas Pituitary Adrenal Thyroid Salivary Mammary gland gland gland gland gland E Kidney Liver Small Spleen Thymus Peripheral Lymph node Bone intestine leukocyte marrow F Appendix Lung Trachea Placenta G Fetal Fetal Fetal Fetal Fetal Fetal Fetal lung brain heart kidney liver spleen thymus H Yeast Yeast E. coli E. coil Poly- Human Col Human DNA Human DNA total RNA tRNA rRNA DNA r(A) DNA (100 μg) (500 μg) (100 μg) (100 μg) (100 μg) (100 μg) (100 μg) (100 μg)

As a result, it was revealed that hHS6ST2 and hHS6ST2v were expressed intensively in central nerves (brain and its appendages), testis, ovary, kidney, and placenta (FIG. 4, left). Also, it was revealed that hHS6ST2 was intensively expressed particularly in a broad region of brain (FIG. 4, right).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, novel isoforms of human sulfotransferase and DNAs encoding them are provided. Furthermore, tumorigenesis of tissues can be detected based on the expression amounts of the isoforms. 

1. An isolated polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 